Channel-lip-turning machine



Gilt. 28 392%., V

' A. R. RiDDERSTROM CHANNEL L11a TURNING MACHINE Filed Feb. 26 1920 3 Sheng-Sheet l mmm.

fqlorneg Oct. 28 192%.

1,513,274 A. R. RIDDERSTROM CHANNEL LIP TURNING momma` Filed Feb. 26 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet? 0st. Z8 1924.` 1,513,274

. A. R. RIDDERSTROM CHANNEL LIP TURNING MACHINE Filed Feb. 2e, 1920 :s shwrs-shan IN VEN TOR.

nd/"@wfEfZiddersrom A TTORNE Y.

www

` the machine.

Patented Oct. 28, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW R. RIDDERSTROM, OF NAHANT, MASSACHUSETTS., SSIGrNOB',- BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THOMAS C. BOWEN, 0F ST/VAIITPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS.

CHINNE14-LIP-TURNIIING` lNIACI-IINE.

Application filed February 26, 1920.`

T0 @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW ROBERT RronnRsTRoM, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Nahant, in the co-unty of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Channel-Lip-Turning Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to channellip-turning machines, and more particularly to machines for turning back the channel lips of stiflened so-les.

Owing to the great strain to which the channel lip is subjected during the operation of opening and turning it and pressing it flat, the sole must be gripped firmly by the feeding instrumentalities to prevent the sole being pushed bodily away and out of As a metal stiffener of a stiftlened sole is naturally of harder'and less yielding quality than the body of the sole, the firm gripping action causes it to bind in the machine, thereby yeither clogging up and completely stopping the operation of the machine, or else injuring the sole or even the machine parts. It has accordingly been customary hitherto to turn back the channel lip before attaching the stiifener to the sole.

An object of the present invention is to leased to permit the spring to return the feed wheel towards'the wiper and thus grip the sole.

The construction is such that an appreciable time interval must elapse before the feed wheel is returned by the spring toits normal position. As the feed wheelfcan not. bite deeply into the sole until after the In o-rder that the Serial No. 361,532.

lapse of the time interval, it has a tendency, especially when operating ata high speed, to dig a groove into the leather and thereby damage the sole.

It is accordingly another object of the present invention to eliminate this damaging tendency of the feed wheel.

To this end, a feature of the invention re-v sides in slowing down the feed wheel when it initially engages the sole, permitting it to secure a firmer grip before it commences to feed the sole at full speed. Another feature@ contemplates the provision of a` quickacting torsion spring having large leverage, whereby the machine is made to respond more quickly to the release of the treadle, and whereby the above-mentioned time interval becomes greatly reduced.

`Still another object of the invention is to improve upon machines of the abovedescribed character, so as to adapt then for operation at high speed.

Vith the above objects in vview,the invention consists of the impro-ved machine hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and defined in the appended claims. l

In the drawings, Fig. l is an elevation of a machine embodying the invention in vits preferred form; Fig. 2 is a fronteend elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is an enlarged view, partly in section, showing the machine. in the act of turning and pressing down a channel lip; Fig. 4 is a. perspective view of a. shank-stifened outsole; Fig. 5 is a detail view showing a preferred yielding connection between the feed wheel and its driving mechanism; Fig. 6 is a. rear elevation of a` preferred feed wheel; and Fig. 7 is a sectional view, taken upon the line 7-7 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arro-ws.

The invention is conveniently illustrated in its preferred form in connection with a machine of the general type disclosed in a patent to St-anbon, No. 607,139, granted July l2, 1898, to which patent reference may be had for a. clearer understanding of so much of the machine illustrated in the ac companying drawings as is not fully eX- plained herein because unnecessary to an understanding of the present invention. rlhe machine embodies a horizontally rotatable Wiper' 2 that is adapted to open, turn over and press flat a channel lip 11 of a previously channeled outsole 6, as shown more particularly in Fig. 3. As the lip t is subjected to considerable strain during this operation, the sole must bev firmly gripped to prevent itsbeing pushed outwardly away from the machine. rfhe desired firm gripping action is effected by a toothed feed Wheel 8 on oneside of the sole and the Wiper and a presser foot 10 upon the other. As the sole is advanced by the feed Wheel to the Wiper, it is guided by an adjustable guide 12 which lies in the sole channel and bears against the shoulder of the lip, and it is gauged by an adjustable gauge 14 in a. manner more fully described in the abovementioned patent.

The present invention is concerned more particularly With machines for operating upon stifl'ened soles. For the of concreteness, a molded, shank-stiffened outsole is illustrated in Fig. e, the shank stiffener 16 of which extends from the heel to near the ball of the sole. The shank may be applied to the inner face 18 of the sole in any desired manner,l as by securing it to the sole at one end 20, as shown, or at both ends. As the shank stiffener is usually of steel or other metal, a material that is much harder than the body ofthe sole, there is a tendency, owing to the above-described firm gripping` action of the feeding instrumentalities, for the sole to Wedge in between the elements of the feeding mechanism, resulting either in stopping the operation of the machine or in injuring the outsole or the machine parts.

According to the present invention, therefore, the shank 16 is not gripped so firmly, if at all, as are other portions of the sole. ln the specific embodiment of the invention that is herein'illustrated and described, provision is made for gripping the shank 16 yieldingly, though firmly gripping other portions of the sole. ln the illustrated einbodiment of the invention, this result is attained by mounting concentrically with the feed Wheel 8, and adjacent thereto, in sideby-side relation, a second feed Wheel 22 of smaller diameter that is adapted to yield upon pressure being` applied to its periphery, as when pressed inwardly by the shank 16. The specific mechanism for effecting this end will non7 be described. The feed Wheel 8 is provided with a centrally positioned ope-ning- 24- (Fig. through which is adapted to enter a boss 26 that is integral with a gear 28 that is rotatablymounted upon an inclined stud 30. The feed u'heei 22 also provided with centrally positioned opening of greater diameter than that of Ithe boss 26, indica-ted at 32 whereby it may be loosely mounted upon the boss 26. rllhe feed Wheel 8 is thus, in effect, provided Wirth a centrally positioned boss which eX- tends into the opening of the feed Wheel 22. The feed Wheels are secured against lateral movement along the boss by a securing plate 34. The feed Wheel 22 is further provided With radial recesses 36 (F ig. 6) having reduced apertures 38 communicating with the central opening 32. Plungers i0 are mounted in the apertures and are spring pressed into the central opening 32 to engage the boss 26 bv springs il-2 in the radial rccesses. The feed wheel 22 is thus laterally yieldably mounted upon the feed Wheel 8, but is normally, when the machine is not in operation, yieldingly maintained in central position thereon. rlhe feed Wheels are adapted to be rotated as a unit by the gear 28 about the stud 30 by connecting them together as shown more particularly .in Figs. 5 and 6, the feed Wheel 22 being provided Wit-h a pin L14 that enters a slot 46 in the feed Wheel 8. The slot i6 is of larger diameter than the diameter of the pin ed so as to permit the above-described yielding lateral movement of the feed Wheel 22 upon the feed Wheel 8.

In operation, the feed Wheel 22 yieldingly grips the stiifener shank 16 along the edge,

the feed Wheel 8 firmly grips an adjacent.

edge portion of the face 18 of the sole, the Wiper 2 and the presser foot 10 at the same time firmly gripping the other face of ythe sole at points opposed to the feed Wheels. in case toor great a .strain is placed upon the sole, the shank 16 presses in upon the periphery of the feed Wheel 22, causing its surface to yield While the grip upon the sole is still maintained. Very satisfactory operation is thus obtained.

rll`he feed Wheel 221 is preferably of slightly smaller diameter than the feed Wheel 8 so as to accommodate the eXtra thickness of the shank 16, as shown in Fig. 3. To proride for a larger bearing surface, the periphery of theI feed wheel may safely he made of greater Width than the Width of thel feed Wheel 8. This end is facilitated by conica-ily inclining the peripheral surface of the feed Wheel 22, rendering it horizontal at its uppermost. position, as shown at 48, to compensate for the inclination of the stu-d BO.

The wings of the Wiper 2 incline upwardly away from the Wiper-carrying shaft, as shown, so as to cooperate at a suitable angle with the inclined feed wheel 22,

The feed Wheel may be of varying thickness, dependent upon the dimensions of the shank of the sole, and its; position upon the machine should always be such that the force exerted by the upwardly inclining Wings of ythe Wiper, in pressing back the channel lip, shall lie along a line L, Fig.

3, parallel tothe feed wheel and approximately midway between its faces. The con-9 stantially in the plane parallel to the faces of the feed wheel 8 and approximately midway between them. The upper, gripping portion of the periphery of the feed wheel lies between the wiper wing and the gauge 14, preferably a little to one side of the end of the guide 12, toward the gauge. It therefore becomes necessary -to vary the position of the feed Wheel 8 relatively to the wiper, the presser foot and the guide, depending upon the size and the position of the feed wheel 22. `A. preferred construction for effecting the desired adjustment of the feed wheels will now be described.

The stud 30 upon which the feed wheels are mounted, a pinion 50 (Fig. 2) that drives the gear 28, a shaft 52 (Fie. 1) to one end of which the pinion is fixed, and bearings 54 for the'shaft.' are all carried upon a frame or carrier 56. Adjustment of the carrier 56 will thus result in adjustmentI of the feed wheels and their driving mechanism. The carrier 56 is provided with an opening 58 (Fig. 7) adapted to receive the eccentric pin 60 of an eccentric post the concentric portion 62 of which is journaled in the frame or support 6a o-f the machine. Rotative adjustment of the eccentric post will thus result in adjusting longitudinally the carrier 56 and t-he feed wheels carried thereby. The feed wheels may thus be adjusted laterally, to the right or to the left (Figs. 1 and 8) of the wiper wings, as desired. The eccentric post may be rotatably adjusted by means of a handle 66, and the carrier 56 may be clamped thereto by a screw 68.

Not only is provision made by this construction for the above-described adjustment, but the carrier becomes thus adapted for pivotal movement upon the machine about the concentric portion 62 of the eccentric post. The free end of the carrier is spring-pressed upwardly, so as to maintain the feed wheels in operative position relatively to the wiper. The feed wheels may be separated from the wiper, t-o permit the introduction of a sole, by a treadle 7 0 acting, in opposition to the force of the spring, to move the free end of the carrier 56 downwardly about the concentric portion 62 of the eccentric post as a pivot. Upon the treadlebeing released, the spring effects a return of the carrier to its norma-l position. The design of the machine of the abovereferred to patent is such that the sluggish spring there disclosed does not operate sufficiently rapidly to meet modern, high-speed demands. The consequence is that ythe teeth of the rapidly rotating feed wheel have a. tendency to bite suddenly, but not deeply,

into the sole and, through their high-speed, rotative movement, cut a groove therein, damaging the sole. To overcome the effects of this damaging tendency, provision made, according to the present invention, for preventing the feed wheel. initially acting upon the sole wit-h its full force. The machine is thus adapted to operate athigh speed, but without in any way injuring the leather of the sole. f

The rotative movement of thel driving mechanism is initially not fully transmitted to the feed wheel, its speed becoming thus temporarily slowed down at the moment when it engages the sole, affording it 'an opportunity to bite deeply into the sole leather before the feeding is resumed at highspeed.

In the specific embodiment which is herein illustrated and described, the desired result is attained by so connecting the feed wheels to their driving mechanism kas to permit a backward yielding rotative movement of' the feed wheels relatively to the driving mechanism. The gear 28 is internally grooved at 84. to receive compression springs` 86 t-he ends of which are confined between posts 88 and 90 that are respectively secured to the gear 28 and the feed wheel 8. VVhe-n a sole is first introduced into the machine,

therefore, and the treadle is released, the

feed wheels are spring-actuated into engagement with a portion of the sole near the edge and with the shank 16. As the leather is firm enough to overcome the tendency of the springs 84: tokeep the feed wheels in the position indicated in Fig. 5, this engagement of the feed wheels by the sole effects a retarding action which causes the feed wheels to slow down or yield backwa-rdly rrelatively to the gear 28 of the. driving mechanism. The `feed wheels are thus forced to assume their normal feeding position,I illustrated in Fig. 3, with the springs 84 under tension, and not until they assume this position do they become fully7 effective to advance the sole at full speed. The sole is, however, advanced, at a slower speed. While the feed wheels are thus slowing down, the feed wheel 8 is adorded an opportunity to bite deeply into the leather and obtain a rm gripy thereon, the feed wheel 22 at the same time. yieldingly grippingthe shank 16, and the presser foot and the wiper firmly gripping the other face of the sole at points opposed to| the gripping points ofthe feed wheels. i

The attainment of the desired result may further be aided by causing the feed wheel to respond more quickly to its actuating spring, so that kit may: bite deeply into the sole immediately upon. the release of the treadle. In this manner, the damaging grooving tendency existant when the feed wheelsuddenly engages a surface layer only of the leather becomes eliminated. According to the present invention, the free end of the carrier is maintained in its normal position by the free end of a torsion spring 72 that is wound about a drum 74 that is secured to a point of the machine frame 64- that is far removed from the feed wheels, so as to provide for large leverage. The force of the spring may be adjusted by a handle 76 that is adapted to rotatably adjust the drum, and the drum be locked in adjusted position by a spring pressed plunger 78 acting as a pawl to engage the teeth of a ratchet Wheel SO. The plunger 78 may be moved upwardly, in opposition to the force of its spring, so as to release the drum, by a handle 82. lt has been found that a spring of this character', with large leverage to render it quick-acting, when suitably adjusted, renders the feed wheels very actively responsive to the release of the treadle. The spring serves an additional function in quiclrly returning the feed wheels to operative position when temporarily displaced therefrom by irregularities in the sole, such as those at the junction between the ball and the shank of a` molded sole, thus contributing` to the efficiency of high-speed machines.

rllhe shaft 52 is driven from a gear 92 (Fig. l) aiiixed thereto and meshing with a worm 94, as in the above-referred to patent. lt has been found that the corresponding worm and gear of the patented machine wore down very quickly when operated at high speed, rendering the machine practically useless, so that for this reason, among others, the machine fell into disfavor. The worm 94: of the present machine has accordingly been considerably reduced in diameter so that it may operate at a smaller peripheral speed, and the number of its threads has been increased. The gear 92 has been correspondingly increased in diameter so as to maintain the balance. The p-rovision of the comparatively small worm 94 and the correspondingly large gear 92 results in the reduction of the friction between them to a minimum, rendering their ope-ration at high speed very satisfactory. The worm 91tis driven through bevel gears 96 and 98 from a pulley 100 which, through bevel gears 102 and 104i-, drives also the vertical shaft upon the lower end of which the wiper 2 is mounted. rlhe feed wheels and the wiper are thus continually operated from the same source.

Although the invention has been illustrated in connection with a machine for turning the channel lips ofy stiffened soles, it will be obvious that certain features thereof are not so restricted, but are applicable to machines for turning the channel lips of any type of sole, Some features of the invention, indeed, are of more general applicability than to channel-lip-turning machines. It will be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to the eX- act embodiment thereof that is herein illustrated and described, but is subject to modification, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is:

l. A channel-lip-turning machine having, in combination, a frame, a shaft vertically mounted in the frame, a wiper carried by the lower' end of the shaft so as to be horizontally rotatable, the wiper being provided with a. wing inclining upwardly away from the shaft adapted to turn the channel lip of a slianl-sti'lfened, channeled sole, and means for feeding a shank-stifiened, channeled sole to the wiper comprising a feed wheel mounted at an incline to the vertical having a section positioned so that the upper portion of the section is adapted to grip firmly a portion of the sole adjacent to the shank stiffener along the edge of the sole, the feed wheel having a section of smaller diameter than the first-named section.

2. A feed mechanism having, in combination, a stud, two feed wheels rotatable thereon, one of the feed wheels being yieldably mounted upon the stud, and a presser footl for cooperating with the feed wheels.

3. A feed mechanism having, in combination, a feed wheel having a centrally positioned boss, a feed wheel having a central opening' of greater diameter than that of the boss, whereby it may be mounted upon the boss, and radial recesses, and plungers mounted in the recesses and spring-pressed into the opening, the boss extending into the opening and being engaged by the springpressed plungers, whereby the second-named feed wheel is laterally yieldably maintained upon the first-named feed wheel.

et. A feed mechanism having, in combination, a feed wheel having a centrally positioned boss rotatably mounted upon a stud, a feed wheel having 'a central opening of diameter greater than that of. the boss, whereby it may be mounted upon the boss, and radial recesses, spring-pressed plungers mounted in the recesses and extendingI into the opening to engage the boss, whereby the second-named feed wheel is laterally yieldably mounted upon the first-named feed wheel, and means whereby the feed wheels may be rotated about said stud as a unit.

5. rA feed mechanism having, in combination, a carrier, a feed wheel carried thereby, a support, means for adjusting the carrier upon the support to adjust the position of the feed Wheel, means for securing the carrier in adjusted position, and means carried by the carrier for operating the feed wheel.

6. A feed mechanism having, in combination, a support, a carrier mounted thereon, a feed wheel carried by the carrier, a gear carried by the carrier for rotating the feed wheel, a gear mounted upon the support meshing with the first-named gear, means for rotating the second-named gear, 'and an eccentric for adjusting the carrier upon the support tol adjust the position of the feed wheel, said gears being adapted'` tol move relatively to each otherwithout disengaging during the adjustment..

7. A -channel-lip-turning machine having, in combination, a support, a wiper,vv acarrier, two inclined feed wheels for advancing a sole to the wiper mounted upon the carrier, said wheels being mounted in side-byside relation, one of the wheels being adapted to grip the shank and the other wheel an adjacent portion of a shank-stiffened sole and an eccentric post ournaled in the frame for adjusting the carrier and about which the carrier is pivotally mounted upon the support.

8. A channel-lip-turning machine having, in combination, a frame, a vertical shaft, a wiper carried by the lower end of the shaft so as to be horizontally rotatable, the wiper being provided with a wing inclining upwardly away from the shaft adapted to turn the channel lip of a shank-stiened, channeled sole, and two adjacently disposed, concentrically mounted feed wheels of different diameter for advancing the sole to the wiper mounted at an incline to the frame with the upper portion of the periphery of the larger feed wheel positioned between the wiper wing and the frame, the smaller feed wheel being adapted to grip yieldingly the shank stiffener and the larger feed wheel being adapted to grip firmly a portion oif the sole adjacent to the shank stilfener along the edge of the sole.

9. A channel-lip-turning machine having, in combination, a wiper, a feed wheel for advancing a channeled sole thereto, a. shaft for driving the feed wheel, and means for longitudinally adjusting the shaft to adjust the position of the feed wheel laterally of the wiper.

10. A machine for turning the channel lip of a sole that is stiffened with a shank stiffen'er applied to one face thereof having, in combination, va wiper, and means for feeding the sole to the wiper, said means comprising two adj acently disposed, feed wheels of different diameter one of which is normally, when the machine is not operating,

vyieldingly positioned concentrically of the other and `adapted to yieldingly grip the shank, and the other being adapted to firmly grip said face of the sole at a portion adjacent to the shank, and means cooperating with the feed wheels to firmly grip the other face of the sole.

11. A channel-lip-turning machine having, in combination, a wiper, a springpressed feed wheel for advancing a channeled sole thereto, means for actuating the feed wheel in opposition to its spring preparatory to the introduction of the sole between the feed wheel and the wiper, and means for temporarily slowing down the speed ofthe feed wheel following the release of the actuating means to permit the feed wheel tof bite deeply into the sole preparaory to the feeding movement at normal spee Y '12. A channr-:l-lip-turning machine having, in combination, a wiper, a feed wheel, means for rotating the feed wheel to advance a channeled sole to the wiper, and means whereby the rotating means becomes initially not fully effective, thereby to prevent the feed wheel damaging the sole.

13. A channel-lip-turning machine having, in combination, awiper, a feed whe'el for advancing a channeled sole to the wiper, means for rotating the feed wheel, and means whereby the rotative movement of the rotating means is initially not fully transmitted to the feed wheel, thereby to prevent the feed wheel damaging the sole.

14. A channel-lip-turning machine having, in combination, a wiper, a feed wheel for advancing a channeled sole thereto, a quick-acting spring for actuating the feed wheel toward the wiper, driving means, and means connecting the feed wheel, l'to the driving means so as to permit a yielding backward rotative movement of the feed wheel relatively to the driving means.

15. A channel-lip-turning machine having, in combination, a frame, a wiper and a feed wheel for advancing a channeled sole to the wiper mounted upon the frame, a quick-acting torsion spring secured to a point of the frame far removed from the feed wheel so as to have. a large leverage, the free end of the spring acting upon the feed wheel to actuate it towards the wiper, and manually operable means for actuating the feed wheel in opposition to the force of the spring preparatory to the introduction of the sole between the feed wheel and the wiper.

16. A channel-lip-turning machine having, in combination, a frame, a shaft vertically mounted in the frame, a wiper carried by the lower end of the shaft so as to be horizontally rotatable, the wip'er being provided with a wing inclining upwardly away from the shaft adapted to turn the channel lip of a shank-stiffened, channeled sole, and `mea-ns for feeding a shank-stiffened, channeled sole to the wiper comprising a feed wheel mounted at an incline to the vertical having a section positioned so that the upper portion of the section is adapted to grip firmly a portion of the sole adjacent to the shank stiffener along the edge of the sole, the feed wheel having a section of smaller diameter than the first-named section, andthe periphery of the secondto the shank stiffener along the edge of the Sole., and the smaller section being adapted to be engaged by the shank stiiener.

18,. A channel-lip-turning machine as defined in claim 17 in which the Wiper is horizontally rotatable and the feed Wheel is inclined to the vertical.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 24th day of Feb- 20 rua-ry 1920.

ANDREW R. RIDDERSTROM. 

